Cigarettes valued at Rs 101,850, lacking pictorial warnings, were confiscated from multiple locations in Srinagar

The Food Safety Wing of Drugs & Food Control Organization on Saturday conducted massive raids in Srinagar city on the trade and sale of illicit cigarettes.

During the raids, many stores and vendors were found selling cigarettes without the mandatory pictorial warnings on packets thereof. A huge cache of such cigarettes worth Rs 101850 was seized from various markets during the inspections, under section 7 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA).

As per the act, 40% of the front of all tobacco product packages be covered with pictures of health warnings as intended to alert people to the potential dangers of using such products.

Commissioner, FDA, J&K has issued strict instructions to all the officers of food safety to crack down on such kind of violators and offenders in their respective Jurisdictions, to ensure effective implementation of COTPA 2003.

All the Food Business vendors are informed that the sale of any kind of Tobacco products, without pictorial and statutory warning is a punishable Offence with imprisonment up to 6 months.